


A Moment

by poemygod



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy, Star Wars: Poe Dameron (Comics)
Genre: Angst, F/M, Implied Relationships, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Sorry Not Sorry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-07
Updated: 2018-03-07
Packaged: 2019-03-28 03:54:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 736
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13895682
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/poemygod/pseuds/poemygod
Summary: All it takes is one single second for everything to go wrong.





	A Moment

The red sea of blaster fire sends them running, each member of Black Squadron moving in perfect synchronicity. It’s innate, carved into their bones, like strings tethering them together. Even as Poe calls out commands, he can see his crew reacting before they even have the full instructions.

It always seems to happen to them. A mission gone wrong, a trap. Some sort of set-up and suddenly they are scattering, scrambling away from the angry plasma that streaks the air around them.

Poe skids around a corner as they separate, each person taking their own path back to the transport waiting for them. Getting the fire fight away from the crowded city streets was first priority. The First Order didn’t care if they mowed down a bunch of civilians to get to the Resistance pilots. He didn’t want any more innocent blood on his hands…

A blur of black catches his eye and he can see Jess up ahead of him, falling back in as they get closer to the edges of the city. Just the sight of her causes a smile to tug at the corner of his lips, a dangerous bubble of hope forming in the pit of his stomach. Each step draws them closer to escape, but they aren’t out of the thick of it yet. A rogue blast catches the wall beside him, sending a spray of debris in his face as he keeps running.

The transport is not far up ahead and he can see Karé lowering the ramp, hopping up on it before it’s fully hit the dirt so that she can get the ship off the ground the moment everyone is on board. Snap barrels in next, kicking up dust as he waits at the end of the ramp for the other two, firing at the oncoming troopers.

Tugging his blaster from the holster tucked under his jacket, Poe fires over his shoulder, glancing back for the briefest moment. They’re more than outnumbered, the odds stacked against them, but they’ve gambled worse. Jess stops at the edge of the ramp and he catches her eyes, her hair billowing around her face as the exhaust from the engines kicks up. There is a moment, a soft smile and his heart catches on the beat, a falter in his rhythm.

That’s all it takes.

A single moment.

The bolt of plasma catches him in the side and he’s thrown forward, a scream echoing in his ears and he knows it’s hers. Pain splinters through his body, his nerves on fire as he tries to push up. There’s a haze in his vision now, but he can see Jess struggling against the hold Snap has taken of her arm. Every thin string of hope he’d felt fractures as he watches her and for a moment time stands still.

He’s never been one to believe his life would flash before his eyes if he ever faced death, because he’s flown hundreds of missions that he should never have come back from. It’s not his life though. As time stands frozen, for a brief moment he see’s what could have been while looking at Jess. His mother’s ring on her left hand, a quaint wedding where Snap cries too loudly and he kisses Jess for too long. A pair of kids with dark hair and wide eyes running through the jungles of Yavin-4. Holding her hand as he shows her the tree he grew up climbing. Long nights holding her, cold mornings burrowed under blankets. All of it washes over him and his chest tightens with a pain he’s never felt before, longing for what could be.

There is a deafening crash of sound as the thunder of trooper boots gets closer and he can hear her screams more clearly. Tearing his eyes from Jess’s face, he looks at Snap and there is a heavy moment between them. With a nod, Poe sunders the only lifeline he has and the other man responds with a grimace, his arm wrapping around Jessika’s waist as he hauls her into the transport.

Even as she fights against Snap, the ship lifting off of the ground before the bay of the transport is fully closed. He watches until it’s out of view, as the troopers haul him up and pain explodes at the base of his skull, her face burned into his memory before the world goes black.


End file.
